Jump to content
 







Main menu
   


Navigation  



Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
 




Contribute  



Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
 








Search  

































Create account

Log in
 









Create account
 Log in
 




Pages for logged out editors learn more  



Contributions
Talk
 



















Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 Journalism  





2 European Commission  





3 Return to journalism  





4 Honours  





5 References  














Jim Dougal






مصرى
 

Edit links
 









Article
Talk
 

















Read
Edit
View history
 








Tools
   


Actions  



Read
Edit
View history
 




General  



What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Get shortened URL
Download QR code
Wikidata item
 




Print/export  



Download as PDF
Printable version
 
















Appearance
   

 






From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


Jim Dougal
Born

James Dougal


19 March 1945 (1945-03-19)[1]
Died15 October 2010(2010-10-15) (aged 65)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
NationalityNorthern Irish
Occupation(s)Broadcaster, writer, journalist
Years active1969–2010

James Dougal (19 March 1945 – 15 October 2010) was a Northern Irish journalist, writer and broadcaster who had worked, from 1969 until shortly before his death for RTÉ, UTV and the BBC.

He was said to have maintained a long friendship with Ian Paisley.

He created a production company, Dougal Media, for which he made profiles of Paisley and Margaret Thatcher. His greatest passion, though, was his family. He is survived by his wife, Deirdre, daughters Tara, Emma and Tina, a stepdaughter, Nicola, and a son, James.

Journalism[edit]

An alumnus of St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast and a former civil servant, Dougal's career as a journalist began at BBC Northern Ireland as a general reporter. He also worked at Ulster Television before taking up the post as Northern editor at RTÉ from 1974 to 1991.

Dougal returned to BBC Northern Ireland in 1991 as the station's political editor, replacing Denis Murray upon his promotion to Ireland Correspondent for the corporation's network news bulletins. Dougal's reports were featured on Inside Ulster and Newsline. In February 1996, Dougal was appointed as the new co-presenter of BBC Northern Ireland's relaunched evening news programme Newsline 6.30.

Dougal stood down from presenting the programme after just two months to concentrate on reporting.[2][3]

European Commission[edit]

Dougal left the BBC in 1997 to take up a job for the European Union, initially based in Belfast. He later became the head of the European Commission for the United Kingdom until 2004.[4]

Return to journalism[edit]

In 2006 Dougal returned to broadcasting by presenting and producing The Eternal Optimist, a documentary about the former Church of Ireland Primate of All Ireland Robin Eames. He formed a part of UTV's presenting team for the station's coverage of that year's Northern Ireland Assembly election in March 2007.

Dougal, who ran his own broadcast company Dougal Media, also presented and produced a UTV documentary entitled Paisley, from Protest to Power charting the life of Northern Ireland's First Minister Ian Paisley – the programme aired on the day Paisley took up office in Northern Ireland alongside Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

He continued to work as a broadcaster, writer and media affairs and public affairs consultant until his death on 15 October 2010 at the age of 65 from cancer.[4]

Honours[edit]

Dougal was awarded an honorary doctorate from Queen's University, Belfast for services to the community in Northern Ireland. [citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Profile[permanent dead link], Researcha.com; accessed 4 June 2017.
  • ^ Belfast Telegraph: "TV faces flock to Kincora book launch", belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 23 April 1996; accessed 17 June 2008.
  • ^ "Present twists on Newsline's presentation", belfasttelegraph.co.uk; 6 May 1996; accessed 17 June 2008.
  • ^ a b "Veteran broadcaster Jim Dougal dies". BBC News. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.

  • Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jim_Dougal&oldid=1163590738"

    Categories: 
    1945 births
    2010 deaths
    BBC newsreaders and journalists
    Deaths from cancer in Northern Ireland
    Irish journalists
    Journalists from Northern Ireland
    Writers from Belfast
    RTÉ newsreaders and journalists
    Television presenters from Northern Ireland
    UTV (TV channel) people
    People educated at St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast
    Male non-fiction writers from Northern Ireland
    Broadcasters from Belfast
    Hidden categories: 
    All articles with dead external links
    Articles with dead external links from January 2018
    Articles with permanently dead external links
    Use dmy dates from April 2022
    Articles lacking in-text citations from October 2010
    All articles lacking in-text citations
    Articles with hCards
    Articles needing additional references from June 2017
    All articles needing additional references
    Articles needing additional references from November 2016
    All articles with unsourced statements
    Articles with unsourced statements from October 2010
    Articles with DIB identifiers
     



    This page was last edited on 5 July 2023, at 17:30 (UTC).

    Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.



    Privacy policy

    About Wikipedia

    Disclaimers

    Contact Wikipedia

    Code of Conduct

    Developers

    Statistics

    Cookie statement

    Mobile view



    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki